


The Spells That Bind

by htbthomas



Category: Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Genre: Chocolate Box 2015, Magic, Magic-Users, Multi, OT3, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Spells & Enchantments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-16 16:10:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5832049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/htbthomas/pseuds/htbthomas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Together. As in all three of them—bound together. Is that what the spell would do? Nita caught herself biting her lip. </p><p>Kit zeroed in on it—and the accompanying thoughts—and his eyes got round. <i>Really?</i> She expected a wave of awkward revulsion, but instead she got… curiosity?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Spells That Bind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NightsMistress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightsMistress/gifts).



> Thank you to my long-suffering betas, tptigger and LadySilver, who helped me through multiple versions of this story. :)
> 
> Written before _Games Wizards Play_ came out.

Most errantries ended when the job was done. This one was over—Nita, Kit, and Ronan were back on Earth and a small portion of the universe was running better because of it—yet Nita had a nagging sense that there was still something they needed to do.

She threw herself on the grass in the shade of a tree and pulled her Manual from its otherspace pocket, flipping quickly to the status pages. Nita frowned. Now that she was in college and had been a wizard for several years, she thought she was past the days when the Manual could surprise her, and yet…

"What's wrong?" Kit asked, plopping down onto the grass beside her. 

Nita pointed to the section she'd just read. _Awaiting Promotional Reassignment._

"Promotional Reassignment?" Kit frowned even harder than Nita had. "What does that mean?" He shifted and pulled out his WizPhone from his pocket—Kit said they fit in better at MIT—and scrolled through to his own status page. "It says the same thing for me." Then he scrolled further. "And Ronan, too," he said, turning toward where Ronan sat.

Ronan stood and sauntered over, reading over Kit's shoulder. He shrugged. "And?"

His reaction was quite unnerving. Nita folded her arms. "Do you know what it means already?"

Kit’s eyes narrowed. "Not cool."

"No, I don’t _know_." Ronan kicked at a patch of weeds under his boot. "But 'promotion?' It just makes a sort of sense." He opened his mouth but instead shook his head, like he didn't want to say more.

"Bobo?" she called out to the peridexis that sometimes talked to her. Kit smacked his head in a sort of, _Of course!_ gesture. She continued, "What gives?"

 _Turn the page,_ Bobo said.

On the next page was a spell diagram. "Look at this." As Kit and Ronan gathered around her book, she stared at the unusual forms and Speech. "What kind of spell is this?"

_For binding. If you so choose it. It is fully reversible._

"I think it's some sort of binding spell," Kit beat her to saying out loud.

"And there are places for all three of our names," Ronan added. "Huh."

That 'huh' held a world of meaning. He'd been silent before, but Nita pressed. "That was some 'huh.'"

Ronan's face screwed up like he wasn't sure he should say anything, but finally he spoke, the words drawing out of him slowly. "It's just... considering my spells with each of you lately… there seemed to be a piece—"

"—missing—" Kit said with a nod.

"—like the spells were struggling for..." Nita said, suddenly knowing it was true. "...something." To Bobo, she said, "And this 'binding' is the key?"

Bobo didn't answer. Nita sighed. Well, if this was about choice, they'd better work through it and decide what to do together.

Together. As in all three of them—bound together. Is that what the spell would do? She caught herself biting her lip. 

Kit zeroed in on it—and the accompanying thoughts—and his eyes got round. _Really?_ She expected a wave of awkward revulsion, but instead she got… curiosity?

"I fecking hate it when the two of you do that. Say it out loud, unless it’s something private…" At their answering blushes, Ronan held up his hands. "Never mind, I don’t want to know."

Kit rubbed the back of his head, not meeting Ronan’s eyes. "You definitely don’t." 

She made a noise of agreement. So Kit was curious. So was she. The last time she did a spell with Ronan, there had been something. Not an echo of the kiss they’d shared once upon a time, but something new. 

But curiosity didn’t mean willingness. And what would Ronan think? It wasn’t so long ago that he and Carmela had broken up. Maybe he’d moved on. Maybe he was taking a break from relationships.

"So!" she said, clapping her hands together. "You ready to give this a try?" At Kit’s quick glance, she added, "The spell? Bobo says it's reversible."

"Yeah, let’s give it a go." 

Nita read the first portion of the spell diagram, the part with her name. The air around them went silent as it always did when reading in the Speech, as if the world were listening with bated breath. Then Kit went next, and there was something new—a drawing toward him, just a little stronger than what she usually felt. When Kit stopped, Ronan spoke in his mellifluous voice. Suddenly, Kit stiffened. She turned to him, worried. _Is something—?_

Tingles suffused her body. If she was feeling them this strongly, then what was Kit feeling? She looked up at Ronan. His eyes were dark, wide, his face tense with concentration. A little awareness trickled through Kit toward her and it was unlike working with Ronan or Kit any time before. She had worked in dozens, maybe hundreds of combinations of wizards before, but this was something new.

"What _is_ this?" Nita didn't know if she'd said it, or someone else. Like the connection she had with Kit, old and familiar, but twice as strong. The connection when kissing Ronan all those years ago was never like this. That was a trickle. This was a waterfall.

But it didn't last long. Not as long as she wanted it to. With a grunt of effort, Ronan finished speaking and as they tied the Wizard's Knot, the spell pulsed to life. 

Nita staggered back, the rush of feeling dimming, but not dissipating completely. She tried to analyze the complete and working spell, but her eyes kept drifting to the other two wizards. 

Kit was bent over, hands resting on his thighs, breathing as heavily as if he'd been running the hundred yard dash. The energy outlay involved in spellcasting could be significant. Ronan was stock still, only his nostrils flaring with breath. He gazed upon the complete spell, not anyone else. 

Nita found she couldn't form words, and it wasn’t just the usual tiredness post-spellcraft. It worked, hadn't it? She felt a new connection to both Kit and Ronan, almost like a strengthening of power. But... though she couldn't really explain it, things were still... incomplete. There was a twinge of something in the back of her mind. She ignored it to check on Kit.

"Kit?" she asked, gliding a gentle hand across his back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it just took more out of me than I thought it would." Telepathically, he sent, _But keep doing that—it feels good._

She obliged, deepening the massage. She could feel an echo of his pleasure through the bond, and... something more, like a secondary echo on top of Kit's. What on earth?

Nita shot a quick glance over at Ronan, at exactly the same time as Kit's head popped up. Ronan's eyes were closed, and his shoulders moved slowly up and down as if he were receiving an invisible massage of his own.

"Ack!" she yelped, dropping her hand from Kit's back. Kit straightened in surprise.

Ronan's eyes opened. "Hey, I was enjoying that." He didn't seem—didn't _feel_ , Nita realized—shocked at the way the new bond manifested between the three of them. Not at all.

"Get your own girlfriend," Kit murmured, just as freaked out as she was. That consoled Nita a little.

Ronan just shrugged in that way he had. "It's not like I knew how this was going to work. I might as well enjoy it."

"It just feels, I dunno, voyeuristic, I guess." Kit shook his limbs all over as a shiver hit him. A small shiver hit Nita as well. Even Ronan shifted uncomfortably. 

"Sorry," Ronan said, and she could feel that he really meant it.

Nita looked between the two guys and let out a frustrated sigh. "Is no one going to say it? Why does it feel like the three of us are..." She swallowed before finishing the sentence. "...together?" She took a deep breath. "I mean, Kit's my boyfriend, so that makes sense." She pointed at Ronan. "And I kissed you, but only once. The only time I could really feel what you’re feeling. I've never felt that again. Until now." Ronan was still keeping his distance, at least a physical one. Did it matter when she could feel every fleeting change of his emotions? 

Ronan nodded. "Same for me. And now I can feel Kit's, too."

"Yep." Kit gestured toward Ronan more than pointed.

Nita shivered again. The interplay of thoughts and feelings bouncing around were like some twisted game of tennis that no one could have followed, not even the players. Even Ronan, with his love of hurling and its fast pace. "Okay," she said, willing her mind to calmness. "I think we need some distance to think about this. Let's each go home, cool off."

Kit let out a breath and nodded, preparing his transit spell. Nita turned her attention to hers—

"So that's it, huh? We're not even going to explore this?"

Both Kit and Nita turned to Ronan.

"You two." He shook his head. "You're two of the best wizards I've ever known, you're both getting degrees in the sciences... You're not even curious? Even a little?"

Nita blushed. She was curious. And flustered. And confused. And she could feel all of that radiating from the other two. But somehow Ronan could cut through it and be logical. Ronan, of all people. Maybe she'd been wrong about no one being able to follow this game.

"All right, fine," Kit said. "I'm willing. Neets?"

Was she willing? Or too scared? She'd already knew that three of them working in tandem was beneficial. They'd been friends so long she couldn't remember a time when she hadn't had one or both of them to lean on. Nothing in her oracular visions had prepared her for this. And Bobo remained silent.

She just nodded. 

Kit rubbed his hands together. "Okay. So how about we each start walking in different directions and see how far we get before the bond weakens?" 

"Or," she said just as Kit was turning on his heel. She licked at her lips unconsciously. "We could move closer and see if it strengthens."

Ronan raised an eyebrow. Kit gawped. But as one, they walked toward each other. Slowly, carefully, feeling with their wizardly senses as much as their physical ones. When they were as close as they could be without touching, Nita whispered. "It's so strong, but not a lot stronger than before."

"Yeah," Kit agreed, his voice a whisper as well.

"Will it be even stronger if we—?"

Nita didn't let Ronan finish. She grabbed hold of both guys' hands. The jolt of feeling was almost electric; Nita could see stars flash across her vision. She whispered. "What will happen if you—"

Kit took Ronan's hand, and Nita's eyes flew wide. She couldn't speak, she could barely think, and the muddle of thought and feeling she was getting from the other two was the same. It bounced around the triangle of their linked hands for a moment, for a minute, for an hour. No one could say. Were they locked in an unbreakable loop? Someone should do something.

So Nita did.

Not letting go the clasped hands, she leaned over and kissed Kit soundly, enjoying the surprise and pleasure that came from him. Ronan's reaction held… interest, and intrigue. _I'm going to kiss Ronan now,_ she sent to Kit, and really Ronan, too. _If that's okay?_

Kit simply hummed beneath her lips, even though he could have answered mentally. 

Ronan, however, sent, _About time I got some action,_ so flippantly that she wanted to laugh and wallop him at the same time.

But a wallop of a kiss would have to do. When their lips touched, it was an explosion of sensation even she wasn't prepared for. The kiss was nothing like the one before, and why should it be? They were both older and more experienced. And Ronan was doing things with his tongue that he'd definitely learned somewhere else... Kit, on the telepathic bond end of things, wavered a little on his feet, his hand gripping hers fast.

Nita pulled back after a while, breathing heavily. _You weren't kidding,_ Kit sent. _That's intense._

_To put it mildly._

Nita glanced between the two guys. _What does it feel like?_

Kit screwed his face up. _Kinda hard to explain. It's like—_

Ronan let out a mental groan of frustration. _I swear, Rodriguez, even after you've had a girlfriend for a few years, you're still the most socially awkward…_ He pulled Kit toward him with a jerk. "Let's show her, you git."

Nita almost went rigid with the shock of their contact, holding back a tiny squeal. How she could be feeling so much, even when she wasn't an active participant in the kiss? It didn't matter if she was watching or closing her eyes, so she just let the sensations wash over her in waves: curiosity, pleasure, desire.

Finally, it ended, and Nita couldn't hold on any longer. Her hands released, almost nerveless, and she sank to the grass. One wizard, then the other, dropped beside her, as exhausted as if they'd performed major wizardry.

And maybe they had.

"I'd say that experiment was a success," Nita said.

"A good first try, anyway," Ronan drawled.

Kit smirked. "Needs more data, right?"

Laughing, Nita let herself fall all the way to her back, looking up at the darkening sky, just starting to turn gold and red. Kit slid beside her, scooting close to share warmth. Nita smiled at him, and then turned her head to look at where Ronan was sitting lazily up on his elbows. She patted the grass beside her, and he moved close as well. They lay there a while, long after the sunset had faded to true night, watching the stars. No words were needed, neither spoken nor thought. Being together was enough.

* * *

That night, while lying in bed, Nita pulled out her Manual. She flipped idly through the pages until, eventually, landing on the directory. There, printed out with no room for ambiguity, was what she had already suspected about the meaning of Promotional Reassignment:

_Callahan, J.L., Rodriguez, C.K., and Nolan, R.H. Advisories - Trainee. Specialities pending._


End file.
